Sait Cemil Sofuoğlu

A health risk assessment for exposure to trace metals via drinking water ingestion pathway

A health risk assessment was conducted for exposure to trace metals via drinking water ingestion pathway for Province of Izmir, Turkey. Concentrations of 11 trace metals were measured in drinking waters collected from 100 population weighted random sampling units (houses). The samples were analyzed in atomic absorption spectrometry for arsenic, and inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry for Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, V, and Zn. Questionnaires were administered to a participant from each sampling unit to determine drinking water consumption related information and demographics. Exposure and risks were estimated for each individual by direct calculation, and for Izmir population by Monte Carlo simulation. Six trace metals (As, Cr, Cu, Mn, Ni, and Zn) were detected in >50% of the samples. Concentrations of As and Ni exceeded the corresponding standards in 20% and 58% of the samples, respectively. As a result, arsenic noncarcinogenic risks were higher than the level of concern for 19% of the population, whereas carcinogenic risks were >10(-4) for 46%, and >10(-6) for 90% of the population.

An assessment of indoor air concentrations and health risks of volatile organic compounds in three primary schools

Concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), including formaldehyde, in classrooms, kindergartens, and outdoor playgrounds of three primary schools were measured in spring, winter, and fall terms in İzmir, Turkey. A health-risk assessment was conducted for odor detection, sensory irritation, chronic toxic effects, and cancer. Active sampling was applied for VOCs and formaldehyde on Tenax TA and DNPH tubes, respectively. VOCs were analyzed in a thermal desorption-GC-MS system. Formaldehyde analysis was performed using an HPLC instrument. Benzene, toluene, and formaldehyde were the most abundant compounds with 95th percentile indoor air concentrations of 29, 87, and 106 μg/m(3), respectively. Naphthalene and xylenes followed them with an order of magnitude lower concentrations. Two isomers of dichlorobenzene (1,3 and 1,4) were the other notable compounds. The concentrations were utilized to classify the indoor air pollutants with respect to potential health effects. In addition, carcinogenic and chronic toxic risks were estimated using Monte-Carlo simulation. Formaldehyde appears to be the most concerning pollutant with high chronic toxic and carcinogenic risk levels according to the health assessment followed by naphthalene, benzene, and toluene due to their chronic effects.

An exposure and risk assessment for fluoride and trace metals in black tea.

Exposure and associated health risks for fluoride and trace metals in black tea were estimated. Fifty participants were randomly recruited to supply samples from the tea that they drink, and self-administer a questionnaire that inquired about personal characteristics and daily tea intake. Analyzed trace metals included aluminum, arsenic, barium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, manganese, nickel, strontium, and zinc. Fluoride and four metals (Al, Cr, Mn, Ni) were detected in all samples while barium was detected only in one sample. The remaining metals were detected in >60% of the samples. Fluoride and aluminum levels in instant tea bag samples were greater than in loose tea samples (p<0.05) while the differences in elemental concentrations of loose and pot bag tea samples were not significant. Median and 90th percentile daily tea intake rates were estimated as 0.35 and 1.1l/day, respectively. Neither fluoride nor aluminum levels in black tea were found to associate with considerable risks of fluorosis and Alzheimers disease, respectively. However, carcinogenic risk levels for arsenic were high; R>1.0 x 10(-6) even at the median level. According to sensitivity analysis, daily tea intake was the most influencing variable to the risk except for arsenic for which the concentration distribution was of more importance.

Seasonal variation in drinking water concentrations of disinfection by-products in IZMIR and associated human health risks.

Seasonal variation in concentrations of two different disinfection by-product groups, trihalomethanes (THMs) and haloacetonitriles (HANs), was investigated in tap water samples collected from five sampling points (one groundwater and four surface water sources) in Izmir, Turkey. Estimates of previously published carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks through oral exposure to THMs were re-evaluated using a probabilistic approach that took the seasonal concentration variation into account. Chloroform, bromoform, dibromochloromethane and dichloroacetonitrile were the most frequently detected compounds. Among these, chloroform was detected with the highest concentrations ranging from 0.03 to 98.4 microg/L. In tap water, at the groundwater supplied sampling point, brominated species, bromoform and dibromoacetonitrile, were detected at the highest levels most probably due to bromide ion intrusion from seawater. The highest total THM and total HAN concentrations were detected in spring while the lowest in summer and fall. The annual average total THM concentration measured at one of the surface water supplied sampling points exceeded the USEPAs limit of 80 microg/L. While all non-carcinogenic risks due to exposure to THMs in Izmir drinking water were negligible, carcinogenic risk levels associated with bromodichloromethane and dibromochloromethane were higher than one in million.

Air and seawater pollution and air-sea gas exchange of persistent toxic substances in the Aegean Sea: spatial trends of PAHs, PCBs, OCPs and PBDEs

Near-ground air (26 substances) and surface seawater (55 substances) concentrations of persistent toxic substances (PTS) were determined in July 2012 in a coordinated and coherent way around the Aegean Sea based on passive air (10 sites in 5 areas) and water (4 sites in 2 areas) sampling. The direction of air–sea exchange was determined for 18 PTS. Identical samplers were deployed at all sites and were analysed at one laboratory. hexachlorobenzene (HCB), hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) as well as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and its degradation products are evenly distributed in the air of the whole region. Air concentrations of p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) and o,p′-DDT and seawater concentrations of p,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDD were elevated in Thermaikos Gulf, northwestern Aegean Sea. The polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congener pattern in air is identical throughout the region, while polybrominated diphenylether (PBDE)patterns are obviously dissimilar between Greece and Turkey. Various pollutants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), PCBs, DDE, and penta- and hexachlorobenzene are found close to phase equilibrium or net-volatilisational (upward flux), similarly at a remote site (on Crete) and in the more polluted Thermaikos Gulf. The results suggest that effective passive air sampling volumes may not be representative across sites when PAHs significantly partitioning to the particulate phase are included.

Dry Deposition Fluxes and Atmospheric Size Distributions of Mass, Al, and Mg Measured in Southern Lake Michigan during AEOLOS

ABSTRACT In this study, which was a part of the Atmospheric Exchange Over Lakes and Oceans Study (AEOLOS) investigation, the dry deposition fluxes and atmospheric size distributions (ASDs) of mass and crustal metals (aluminum and magnesium) were measured over the southern basin of Lake Michigan (in Chicago, over Lake Michigan, and in South Haven, Michigan). Airborne crustal metals arise primarily from fugitive dust emissions and are associated with the coarse fraction of atmospheric aerosol. Consequently, they can serve as fingerprints for the atmospheric behavior of fugitive dust. The flux of these metals were substantially higher in Chicago than in either South Haven or over Lake Michigan. The measured average mass, aluminum, and magnesium fluxes were 138, 2.23, and 5.32 mg/m2-day in Chicago, 47.8, 0.24, and 0.28 mg/m2-day over Lake Michigan, and 37.4, 0.17, and 0.12 mg/m2-day in South Haven, respectively. The ASDs of crustal metals measured in Chicago had higher concentrations of coarse particles than ...

The indoor environmental index and its relationship with symptoms of office building occupants.

Abstract An index for indoor environmental quality, the Indoor Environmental Index (IEI), was developed. This study aggregates the Indoor Air Pollution Index, an index found in the literature, and a new index: the Indoor Discomfort Index. The average of these two indices is the IEI, which is calculated using concentrations of eight pollutants and two comfort variables measured in 100 office buildings in the United States. The database used was developed for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Building Assessment Survey Evaluation study. A symptom index also is developed to denote persistent occupant symptoms. The IEI and the symptom index are used to investigate the relationship between indoor environmental quality and symptoms. Two simple linear regression models were formulated; these models explain 67 and 79% of the variation in the average symptom index, with the variation of the average IEI depending on the method of averaging used in the construction of the models. In addition, a conceptual explanation is provided for the empirical or regression models formulated. The IEI and the associated models relating indoor environmental quality with the office occupant symptom index may be used as management tools, as illustrated with an example.

Polycyclic and nitro musks in indoor air: a primary school classroom and a women's sport center.

UNLABELLED Indoor air gas and particulate-phase samples (PM(2.5) ) were collected from a primary school classroom and a womens sport center because children are one of the sensitive population subgroups and women are frequent users of personal care products in addition to the high level of activity in this specific microenvironment. PM(2.5) was collected with a Harvard impactor, and polyurethane foam was used for the gas phase. Samples were ultrasonically extracted, concentrated, and analyzed with a GC-MS. The mean gas-phase concentrations in the classroom ranged from 0.12 ± 0.2 ng/m(3) for MK to 267 ± 56 ng/m(3) for HHCB, while it was from 0.08 ± 0.10 ng/m(3) for AHMI to 144 ± 61 ng/m(3) for HHCB in the sports center. Particulate-phase average concentrations in the sports center ranged from 0.22 ± 0.11 ng/m(3) for ATII to 1.34 ± 071 ng/m(3) for AHTN, while it ranged from 0.05 ± 0.02 ng/m(3) (musk xylene) to 2.50 ± 0.94 ng/m(3) (HHCB) in the classroom. Exposure-risk assessment showed that inhalation route is most probably far less significant than the dermal route; however, it should be noted that the exposure duration covered in this study was not the larger fraction of the day. PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS Synthetic musk compounds (SMCs) are found everywhere because their use in household and personal care products (laundry detergents, carpet cleaners, cleaning agents, fabric softener soaps, shampoos, cosmetics, etc.) has been increasing. These compounds are semi-volatiles that may result in direct and indirect exposures through inhalation route. Although SMCs were found to be dominant in the gas phase, exposure via inhalable particles may be important as we found several compounds in the particulate phase (PM(2.5)).

Speciated arsenic concentrations, exposure, and associated health risks for rice and bulgur.

Arsenic species were determined in rice and bulgur samples that were collected from 50 participants who also supplied exposure related information through a questionnaire survey. Speciation analysis was conducted using an HPLC-ICP-MS system. Ingestion exposure to arsenic and associated health risks were assessed by combining the concentration and questionnaire data both for individual participants and the subject population. Inorganic arsenic dominated both in rice and bulgur but concentrations were about an order of magnitude higher in rice (160±38 ng/g) than in bulgur. Because participants also consumed more rice than bulgur, exposures were significantly higher for rice resulting in carcinogenic risks above acceptable level for 53% and 93% of the participants when the in-effect and the proposed potencies were used, respectively, compared to 0% and 5% for bulgur. An inorganic arsenic standard for rice would be useful to lower the risks while public awareness about the relation between excessive rice consumption and health risks is built, and bulgur consumption is promoted.

The use of olive tree (Olea europaea L.) leaves as a bioindicator for environmental pollution in the Province of Aydın, Turkey.

IntroductionIn this study, olive tree leaves, collected from 50 sampling sites throughout the Province of Aydın, Turkey, were used to estimate level of pollution by measuring Al, As, B, Ba, Ca, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Li, Mg, Mn, Na, Ni, Pb, Sr, and Zn concentrations and calculating pollution factor (PF) values.Materials and methodsAfter sample preparation, collected leaves were microwave digested, and extracts were analyzed by an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer.Results and discussionThe maximum PF values were ≥10 for a number of elements ranging from 11–13 (Al, As, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni) to >100 for Cu, Li, and Na. Urban–rural and roadside–nonroadside concentration comparisons showed that some of the elements (As, Cu, and Pb) were at significantly higher levels on urban and/or roadside sampling sites.Summary and conclusionCorrelations and factor analysis showed that there may be common sources for some elements, which included several soil types and anthropogenic activities. Based on the results of the statistical source apportionment, possible sources were narrowed down with help of the constructed elemental concentration maps. In conclusion, utilization of olive tree leaves for biomonitoring and assessment of environmental pollution was shown to be possible in the Mediterranean region where they are indigenous and cultivated.